It's Your Blood
by Cybertek13666
Summary: By day, Ruby Rose is an exceptionally skilled student at Beacon Academy. By night, she's a serial killer with a violent streak and an acquired taste for human flesh. With Ozpin, the Vale Police Department, and her teammates all coming far too close, will she be able to keep both lives separate? Dark Ruby, Murder, Suicide, Detailed Violence. Also posting on ao3 & Wattpad.
1. Big Night

**Ruby POV**

The store was quiet that night, the shopkeeper sweeping behind the register and a lone customer browsing the shelves at the back of the building. The customer in question was looking through a weapons magazine, music faintly audible from the headphones on her ears. Her headphones were on the higher end of the quality scale, and were exceptionally good at blocking out other noises to enhance the music. They blocked out the ringing of the bell at the front of the shop as a dozen heavily armed men entered the shop. They blocked off the terrified scream of the shopkeeper as he was threatened with his life. For all their exceptional qualities, however, the headphones couldn't do anything to block out the following gunshot. The girl froze, a page half turned in her fingers. She reached up and pressed a button on the side of her headphones, silencing the music instantly. The magazine was folded up and placed in a pouch on her belt, and then she slowly moved forward and peeked around the corner of the shelf. A dozen men stood near the entrance to the shop, some grabbing dust crystals, others filling cartridges at dispensers. One stood apart from the others, however. Instead of the uniform black suit the others wore, he wore white jacket and a bowler hat, and carried a cane. Anyone else probably wouldn't have noticed, but the girl could see the faint splatter of blood on the jacket. That's when she saw the pool of blood behind the register. Something inside her jumped at this, but she shoved it back down. She needed to keep her cool… for now. One of the black-suited henchman turned and spotter her out of the corner of his eye. She moved quickly behind the shelf as he drew a sword from his waist and began to move towards her. She moved back until she was partly hidden in the shadows of the corner, and then waited ready to pounce. Then she smiled.

 **Roman POV**

Roman had a bad feeling about tonight's heist. It had been months since the last time his henchmen had encountered it. He'd been going with the last few groups for observation to make sure no more shit went down than necessary. He really hadn't wanted to shoot the shopkeeper, but he had pulled a gun, so Roman was forced to act. He stood there, watching his men, and saw one begin moving towards the back through the maze of shelves.

 _Probably a customer hiding in the back_ , he thought. Shouldn't be too much trouble. He had just turned his eyes away to check on the others when he heard the scream. His head whipped back around. Silence. Not a single noise, and then… _crack_. The sound of breaking bones. A whimper, and then a gurgling noise. Needless to say, Roman was now thoroughly worried. He turned towards the others, who were now all turned towards the back of the store, some glancing toward him, clearly terrified. He gestured, and three more broke off from the group and began to make their way toward the back, one of them visibly shaking. They disappeared from view, and for a moment, there was quiet. Suddenly, all three screamed at once. There was a crash, and one reappeared from behind the shelves for a split second, only to be yanked back by a hand. Another scream, violently cut off. The rest of the men were out the door into the street before Roman could even give the order to abort. He turned as they ran out the door, and threw an explosive behind the shelves. After they were out in the street, Roman looked back with his men as the storefront exploded into flames, shard of glass flying outwards. From within the flames, there was a brief flash of red, and then one of his men screamed and was abruptly cut off behind him. Roman did a one-eighty only to see his seven remaining men fall to the ground in growing pools of their own blood, large gashes in theirs necks and holes in their chests, Rose Petals scattered around their bodies. He involuntarily took a step backwards, pulling his cane up defensively. There was a flash in the corner of his vision, and roman jumped back, falling flat on the ground. There was now a large gash on his chest where a blade had just missed its killing blow. Roman pulled up a communicator on his left wrist up to his face.

"Neo! Get your ass here _now_! Emergency evac, and I mean _emergency_!" He yelled into it through gritted teeth. He could hear the roar of engines a few blocks over, but he knew she probably wouldn't get there in time. Another flash of red, and his communicator dropped off of his arm, along with his hand. There was a split second of shock that seemed to stretch on for days. Then the pain hit. Roman had never screamed louder. He clutched his arm to his chest and curled into a ball amid the growing piles of rose petals that littered the ground. If he could have heard over his own screams, he would have heard a laugh behind him.

 **Ruby POV**

Ruby was struggling not to burst out laughing as she ran circles around the man with the white jacket. He screamed so loud, it was pitiful. She dashed up around, so fast that no one who didn't know her exact trajectory wouldn't have been able to track her. She was about to come back around for another slice-n-dice, but it was then she heard the faint whirring of engines growing closer.

 _Dammit_ , she thought, irritated, as she grabbed one of the henchman's bodies for later and retired to the top of a nearby building where she was unlikely to be seen by anyone, especially in a flying vehicle. _Guess I'll have so settle for the cold meat_. She pulled down her face mask and began to tear chunks off of the man's body and stuff them into her mouth. _Jeez, why are the henchmen never girls? They taste so much better._ A few moments later, a small airship landed in the street next to Roman, piloted by a short woman with adorable multicolored hair. _Oh, she's cute._ Though Ruby, watching absentmindedly. The woman nearly fell out of the pilot's seat trying to get to Roman. She picked him up and carried him back to the ship, setting him gently inside. She jumped back in the pilot's seat and took off, narrowly avoiding at least three other buildings. _She's in a hurry._ After the whirring of the engines finally faded away to silence and gave way to the sirens of cop cars approaching in response to the report of explosions and gunshots, Ruby sighed. She should have gone home earlier, but that weapon magazine was just so good! Now she would probably be exhausted at her first day at Beacon. Not a great start. Not only that, but Yang would be wondering where Ruby had been for the past hour. She groaned and folded Crescent Rose back into compact form, grabbed another chunk of person meat for the road, kicked the body off of the roof into the top of a cop car that had just parked, and dashed off for home. _Guess I'll have to clean the blood off discreetly later._ She thought, though it wasn't the first time she'd had to do it. Not only that but now she was starting to feel a bit _lively_ , and she didn't think she'd be able to get any relief at home. _So, one more pitstop, not too bad_. She thought, gently altering her course towards the residential district as she flew through the air. _Never a dull moment_.

If anyone had been close enough to see her face, they would have seen the red drain out of her eyes & be replaced by the usual white, her irises changing back to normal circles from the swirled rosebud pattern they had been only a few moments ago. The trail of rose petals grew behind her, fluttering to the ground.

 **Ozpin POV**

Ozpin sat in his office watching the security footage from the shop. Not for the first time, he suppressed the urge to vomit. Glynda stood behind him on her scroll.

"Are you absolutely sure, Glynda?" He asked, not turning away from the screen.

"Yes, sir. There's no doubt about it. Ruby Rose, fifteen. She skipped two whole years at Signal and starts here tomorrow." She said, still scrolling.

"What else do we know?"

"Not nearly enough. There are several redacted files here," She said, obviously confused. She looked up. "Aren't we supposed to have access to all police and government files on the students?"

"Yes, we are." He looked back at her. "We need to figure this out tomorrow, preferably not exhausted. Delete this footage and tell them it was destroyed in the fire."

"But sir- "

"Do it." There was an edge to his voice this time. Glynda sighed and pressed a button, and the footage disappeared from the screen. She set down her scroll and began to walk away.

"Glynda," Ozpin called after her. "Tomorrow." She sighed and nodded, then turned away and walked through the door.


	2. The Rabbit & The Rose

**Hello! Thanks for the helpful reviews on the last chapter. I've attempted to make the Paragraphs a little less "mind-bogglingly similar to the 154th page of a textbook at 3 am." I will also say, I rewrote the second half of this chapter because the first version was , A) Extremely long and blocky as hell, and B) So incredibly violent that I was concerned with my own mental health. So, uh, yeah, here's the new version.**

 **PS, this chapter contains a detailed description of physical and sexual violence. If you don't want to read that, skip from where it says *LAST NIGHT* to where it says *PRESENT***

 **RUBY POV**

"Ruby! Get up, we're gonna be late!" Yang's voice echoed through the house. Ruby sat up groggily, rubbing her eyes. She didn't move for a moment, the whole of last night flooding back. _Well,_ she thought, turning her legs over the edge of the bed. _Last night could have gone a tad better, though that nice Rabbit Faunus helped a bit._ Ruby grinned at this, a hint of red creeping into her eyes before bleeding away again.

"Rubes, what're you smiling at?" Asked Yang, peeking her head in the doorway holding a toothbrush.

"Ah, nothing," Said Ruby, shaking her head. "Just a joke I remembered."

"Ok, sure," Replied Yang, grinning. "As long as it was one of mine! Just uh, hurry up. I don't want to be late for my first day at Beacon!" she sang, running down the hall. Ruby stood straight up. _Oh crap. I forgot!_ She rushed around her room, grabbing clothes and then bolting down the hall towards the shower. She blasted past Yang, and slammed the door just as Yang was about to go into the bathroom.

"Ruby! Come on!"

Ruby squeaked from the other side of the door. "Sorry, I call first shower!"

Ignoring her sister's annoyed comments from outside the door, Ruby turned on the water, twisting the knobs until it was just the right temperature. She stripped off her clothes from last night, which she was still wearing, and, if someone was close enough to tell, smelled faintly of blood. Hopping into the shower, she remembered last night.

 ***LAST NIGHT***

 **MYSTERY CHARACTER POV**

When I woke up, my eyes were covered in some sort of cloth, my mouth was covered with… _something_ that smelled awful. I could breathe through my nose, but just barely, and I could faintly smell blood. I tried to move, and found that my hand and feet were both tied to something, with me positioned spread-eagle. I struggled, and there was a noise. Whatever was on my mouth shifted, and someone spoke.

"Ooh, look who's awake!" Came a high pitched, almost squeaky voice. "Hey, are you ready to start?"

I tried to move my mouth to ask what she meant, but she pinched my arm after I started moving my mouth, and I stopped.

"Let's, uh, save that part for later, huh?" She said shakily. "But, I'll take your continued silence as a yes!"

There were a few moments where the weight on top of me shifted, the a moment of stillness. I began to wonder what was happening, still wiggling my feet to try to loosen them, when I felt a stabbing pain in my right arm, followed by a warm feeling spreading around it. I let out a muffled scream as I felt the knife cut across my arm, leaving a long cut with warm blood spilling out onto my arm.

"Oh yeah, that hits the spot," came the voice again, gasping. "Keep moving your mouth, just like that." The thing on my face pushed down, and I realized what it was.

 _Oh my god. She's sitting on my face._ I thought, brought back to reality by the feeling of someone tongue running across my arm, licking up the blood from the cut.

This continued for almost an hour, until there were 11 cuts along my arm, each licked dry of blood. I was shaking, and gasping for air. The girl stayed still for a while, giving me a well-needed break, then spoke.

"There we go," She said cheerfully. "Now we match!" A moment later she said something quietly under her breath that I never would have caught if not for the large Rabbit ears on my head.

" _One for every year._ " she muttered, before continuing with me.

"Well, I guess it's time for the grand finale, and then I'll just scoot on outta here," She said, almost sounding disappointed. I let out a breath I didn't realize I had been holding, relieved that this was going to end soon. That is, until her weight lifted off my mouth and chest. I immediately went to scream for help, but my mouth was immediately stuffed with something wet.

While I was trying to figure out what the fuck had been stuffed in my mouth, hands reached down and ripped open my shirt and pajama pants. The cloth, which I then realized was probably the girl's underwear, was removed from my mouth, promptly replaced by the other girl's own mouth, pressed up against mine. Her hand reached down and stuffed the wet wad of cloth into the front of my own underwear, and the moved her hand to herself. She continued to kiss me, stuffing her tongue into my mouth, tasting faintly of blood and something more raw.

She pulled away, gasping for air. "Almost done now," she said, breathing heavily. She lifted off me, keeping a hand over my mouth, then sat on my stomach, leaning backwards. She took her underwear out of my pants and stuffed them back in my mouth, and begag moving her hands furiously. Moments later, I was covered in _something_ , and she lifted off me.

"Well I'll be on my way then," She said, breathing heavily. I'm almost crying now. _Oh thank Oum, it's over-_

My thoughts were interrupted by the gut-wrenching pain of the knife penetrating my chest over and over again, breaking through ribs and ripping through organs. I convulsed, blood leaking all over me and my bed. As everything began to fade and I could no longer think, There was the sound of a single gunshot, and then I remember nothing else.

 ***PRESENT***

 **RUBY POV**

As Ruby remembered last night, she was interrupted by a pounding on the bathroom door.

"Ruby!" Yelled Yang, not muffled in the slightest by the door and running water. "You've been in there for almost ten minutes! Get the fuck out before I break down this door and drag your naked ass out myself!"

From further downstairs came the faint echo of Taiyang. "Language!"

Ruby quickly shut off the water and dried off, walking out with her towel wrapped around her. Yang stormed past her angrily, not saying anything and slamming the bathroom door behind her.

 _What a great start!_ Thought Ruby as she walked back to her room, dropping her towel in the hall, a spring in her step from the night before.


	3. Common Knowledge

**Hello! Back again. Thanks for the positive feedback on the last chapter, and for the "Damn this Ruby's messed up," because that's exactly how I want it. I'm trying to find that weird balance where Normal Ruby doesn't feel completely disconnected from Dark Ruby, cause that makes everything feel off. I will be aiming to add longer chapters, though that might mean I'll take an ungodly amount of time to update because I write at the pace of a snail on benadryl. Also, if any of you have any questions about upcoming chapters or story and such, I plan to answer as many as possible during chapter 6, which, following a little story pause at the end of chapter 5, will be a little question answering session. So if you have any big questions for that, please leave them in the reviews and such. Thank you, please enjoy.**

 **RUBY POV**

After Yang got out of the shower, no longer annoyed with Ruby, but back in a good mood, she and Ruby got dressed and grabbed their suitcases. Driving to the airship station in their dad's car, Taiyang decided to review.

"Alright, so you two remember what I told you about the entrance exam? About the cliff and everything?" He asked, glancing at the rearview mirror. "About the landing strategies?"

"Yeah dad," came Yang's mildly annoyed voice from the backseat. "I've had a landing strategy since I was twelve, and Ruby-" She glanced sideways at her sister. "Well, Ruby's had one since that incident with the cannon."

Ruby giggled in the seat next to her. "That stupid bird never saw it coming."

"Well anyway, try to get the same artifact so you can land on the same team, though who knows what Ozpin's actually using this time. When we went through, he used a bunch of different colored hats, and then forced us to wear them for the next month." He shuddered. "No matter what your art teacher says, Purple _does not_ go well with Yellow."

He turned up the radio, and the rest of the car ride was uneventful, and besides the country music (which Ruby absolutely loathed, though Tai and Yang seemed to enjoy) from the speakers, quiet.

 **^THE AIRSHIP STATION^**

"Bye dad," said Yang, exiting the hug. "I'll send you a picture of the room."

"Sure, Yang," replied Tai, turning. "Ruby, come over here and give your old man a hug before you vanish from my life for basically four years."

"Oh. Oh yeah, sure," Said Ruby, turning away from where she'd been staring across the narrow stretch of water to Vale. "I love you too, dad."

She pulled him into a tight hug and then released backing away. "I'll still see you sometimes."

"Yeah, but it just won't be the same without two little destruction-causing monsters in my house twenty-four seven."

From a few yards away at a loudspeaker came the announcement.

"All passengers boarding direct flight 71813 to Vale, please report to the landing area. I repeat, all passengers boarding direct flight 71813 to Vale, please report to the landing area." The voice cut off with a quick spurt of static, and several people began to move in one direction.

"Well, see ya girls," Said Tai, standing with his hands on his hips as Ruby and Yang grabbed their suitcases and walked quickly towards the landing zone. "And remember- No boys!" Came Tai's last shout over the crowd. Yang winced as several heads turned towards her, giggling.

"Jeez, dad," muttered Yang, sounding annoyed despite the huge smile on her face. "Well, come on!"

The Airship slowly descended onto the large concrete platform, and people began to file in the moment the doors opened. Ruby and Yang settled into a nice bench near the window, and after a few moments, they became aware of a newscast playing on one of the overhead screens.

"-Just last night, when several unidentified bodies were found outside a small shop in Vale, along with a severed right hand, which police positively identified as belonging to Roman Torchwick, a known criminal and White Fang affiliate," reported the newscaster, a thin woman with white hair.

"He is wanted for Murder, Arson, Robbery, Assault, Affiliation with a known terrorist organization, and Vandalism. Police also report that the killings last night match the style of a serial killer known as Crimson, who, according to surviving eyewitness accounts, uses a large bladed weapon of unknown type. Crimson is now wanted for up to ninety-five counts of murder, one hundred and twenty-three counts of sexual assault, vandalism, arson, and twenty-nine counts of attempted murder." There were several murmurs from the other passengers as Ruby shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"In related news,"continued the newscaster, the skyline of Vale growing closer with every passing moment. "Early this morning, a young girl was found in the third story of her home having been physically and sexually assaulted. While her parents have asked that the girl's name not be publicized, she is currently in stable condition in the Intensive Care Unit of Krios Memorial Hospital. While she has not regained consciousness, police also suspect Crimson's involvement in this assault, though nothing definite will be known until she wakes up. If anyone has any information about either of these crimes, they are urged to call the police and report it. In other news, Beacon Academy is once again-"

The news faded into the background as people whispered about what they'd heard and returned to conversations from before.

"I can't believe someone would do something like that," Yang said, a hint of her own red creeping into her eyes. "Hurting that poor girl." She turned to Ruby.

"New rule, Ruby," Ruby looked up. "No matter what dad says, I don't care how many boys- or girls- you fuck, but promise me, that under no circumstances, will you go out without either me or another teammate. You understand?" Ruby nodded vigorously, subconsciously pulling down her sleeves. "Good. Now, sit here and watch our stuff, I gotta go to the bathroom."

As she walked away, Ruby sighed.

 _This might be a tougher year than I anticipated_ , she thought.

 **^VALE DOCKS, ABANDONED WAREHOUSE^**

 **ROMAN POV**

Neo fitted the metal prosthetic into the socket, connecting it with a little popping noise. Roman moved his new hand around, admiring it.

"Nice," he said, and he sounded like he meant it. "You said you made this?"

Neo nodded quickly, beaming. "Well, I'll be damned, Ice Cream." Her smile immediately turned into a scowl. She quickly signed with her hands: _"Don't call me Ice Cream, shit head."_

"Alright, sorry for commenting on your color scheme," replied Roman. "But I will say, I think we may need to repaint it. I mean, hot pink's great and all, but not exactly fitting of a criminal mastermind."

Neo rolled her eyes, trying to keep up the frown, but still silently giggling.

"Don't laugh at me! I'm serious!" replied Roman, which only made her laugh harder. "I was thinking black with Orange highlights. How does that sound?"

Once she finally ceased her silent laughter, She shrugged slightly, as if to say _Yeah, alright_.

"Finally," sighed Roman.  
You know, Ice Cream, I think we'll be just fine."

He never saw the slap to the back of the head.

 **Hey! Just in case any of you were confused, Bold in All Caps (RUBY POV) is a pov switch, Bold in All Caps with Asterisks (*PRESENT*) is a time switch, and Bold in All Caps with Cerats (^The Airship Station^) is a location switch. Hope that helps, and thanks for reading!**


	4. Finally Here

**Hello! You guys wanted longer chapters? I present: A Longer Chapter! (Granted, that's not really saying much cause my normal chapter length is ass-short.) I'm sorry it took a while to get this out, but I've had a busy time. Also, concerning reviews, I'm not going to say anything right now because I'm saving it for Chapter 6. I don't have anything else to say right now, so enjoy chapter 4!**

* * *

 **RUBY POV**

The airship slowly lowered until it hovered beside the concrete platform, the colossal structure that was Beacon Academy filling the windows. The doors opened and metal ramps extended, creating walkways to the platform. At a door further down the ship, a blond boy ran out and began vomiting into a nearby trash can.

"Oof, Vomit Boy," said Yang, wincing. "Guess the view's not for everyone."

"Yang stay focused!" came Ruby's irritated voice behind her. "We have to concentrate on getting on the same team so we can- Oh, is that a rifle blade!?" Suddenly, instead of behind Yang, Ruby was twenty yards away, next to a boy in green and white with a rifle slung on his back who was looking very uncomfortable that the small girl was nearly on top of him trying to look at his gun.

"Ruby!" yelled Yang, running over and lifting Ruby off of the boy by her hood. Ruby grumbled but didn't fight back.

"I'm sorry about her, she just _really_ likes weapons." Yang apologized, setting Ruby down a few feet away.

"I'm Yang, and the annoying one is Ruby." Ruby tried to protest, but Yang covered her mouth with a hand. Ruby looked about ready to stab her in the leg.

"Uh, it's- it's fine," said the boy, standing up and dusting off the front of his long white coat. "She just wanted to see the gun, which I take as a compliment, seeing as I spent like seven months making it as nice as possible. I'm Baís, by the way. Baís Faroise." He pulled the rifle off of his back and let Ruby look at it.

"There's the safety and the Dust cylinder. It can hold several types." Baís said, pointing with each word.

"Nice," breathed Ruby, running her hands over it. "But what do you do for close quarters?"

Baís grinned. "Thought you'd never ask," he said, pressing a small, almost unnoticeable button next to the grip. The grip extended, becoming longer and thinner. The butt and several sections of the body of the gun flipped up towards the barrel, becoming pieces of a blade, until It was unrecognizable as a rifle, and very obviously a sword.

Ruby was wide-eyed. "I love it," she breathed, grinning ear-to-ear "You wanna see mine?"

Yang stood by her side, watching this exchange with a raised eyebrow. "You guys need a room?"

Ruby and Baís didn't even hear her.

"Sure," said Baís, lowering the sword to his side. "Where is it?"

"Here," said Ruby, bringing Crescent Rose around from where it had hung safely on her back. "Its name is Crescent Rose, and it is my baby." It sprang from compact to sniper form, becoming a very bulky rifle.

Baís ran his hands over the surface. "Very Nice. What's the material?"

Ruby was pretty much bouncing up and down. "Titanium Alloy, with just a bit of Ice Dust. The way I use it can work up some heat, so that helps keep it pretty cool. The first one I made pretty much melted after 12 hours of consecutive heavy use."

"Impressive," Said Baís, and he definitely sounded impressed. "But-"

"What do I do for close quarters?" Ruby interrupted, smirking. Baís nodded. "You, uh, might want to stand back." Baís raised his eyebrows, but handed Ruby her weapon and obliged, sliding back a few feet. Ruby pressed a button, there was a small clicking noise, and the weapon sprang into Scythe form. Ruby twirled it as it unfolded, embedding it into the concrete.

Baís whistled. "That's one hell of a close quarters weapon." Ruby grinned, and several nearby students stopped to stare, Vomit Boy included.

This demonstration of coolness was interrupted, however, by an announcement from a nearby loudspeaker on a lamp post. "No weapons demonstrations in the courtyard, please."

Ruby sighed and folded Crescent Rose back up, twirling it until it was hanging on her back, secure again.

"Well, I guess we should probably be heading to-" Ruby paused, and then turned to Yang. "Where are we supposed to go?"

Yang grinned sheepishly. "I'm not really sure, but…" She gestured over to a group of people about a dozen yards away who were calling her name and waving her over. "My friends are kinda here. Sorry, Rubes. See you later?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, sure," Ruby said, turning and walking away to hide the disappointed look on her face. "See you later."

"Well, I guess I'll see you guys later!" Baís called, though neither of them seemed to pay attention to him as they walked away. "Alright then, that's that."

Ruby didn't pay attention to where she was walking, pulling her hood up and grumbling to herself. "Oh yeah, just leave me here Yang, not like I have no fucking idea where I am or anything. But what about you Yang? Oh, you'll just fuck off to-" Her mocking of Yang was cut short when she speed walked directly into a luggage cart. There was the noise of many suitcases hitting the ground, followed by Ruby, and then the annoyed yelling of an unfamiliar voice.

"What are you doing?!" A girl yelled.

"Uh, sorry!" said Ruby, getting back on her feet. The girl who had yelled stood in front of her, hand on her hips. She wore a white jacket with a high collar and a combat skirt. Her hair was white, and her eyes were a piercing bright blue.

"Sorry?!" said the girl, sounding very angry. "Do you have _any_ idea of the damage you could have caused?! Give me that!" She yanked out of Ruby's arms one of the cases, which Ruby had picked up in a vain attempt to help clean up. She opened it up, revealing glittering vials of Red Dust, and taking one out and waving it in Ruby's face.

"This is Dust, mined and purified from the Schnee quarry!"

"Uuh," said Ruby, eyes fixated on the vial of Dust moving frantically around her field of vision, specks of the contents flying in her face. Her nose began to itch.

"What, are you brain dead?!" yelled the girl, the particles of the red Dust continuing to fill Ruby's nostrils. "Dust! The only reason we're still alive at this point! Are you even listening?!"

"I... I know…" Ruby said quietly, finding it hard to speak with her mouth and nose full of Dust.

"Are you even listening to me? Is any of this sinking in? What do you have to say for yourself?!" The girl asked. She then stood there as if expecting an answer, which, unfortunately, she wasn't going to be getting, because that was when Ruby finally sneezed. Fire spat out of her mouth and nose, and there was an explosion of dust and smoke beside the luggage cart. When the cloud of black smoke (which smelled oddly like cookies) cleared, Ruby was flat on her back and the other girl was a few yards away, having been knocked on her ass.

Wiping off the soot that covered her entire front, the girl stood up, while Ruby still lay on the ground, dazed. "Ugh! Unbelievable! This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!"

Ruby sat up but didn't stand. "I'm sorry! It's just, you were waving that dust and it got all up in my nose, and-"

"Ugh! You complete dolt!" The girl interrupted, making Ruby scowl. "What are you even doing here? Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?"

Ruby's eyes began to be clouded with red. "If you must know, I skipped two years because I was just too good!"

"I don't care how good you were, this isn't your ordinary combat school! It's not just sparring and practice, you know! We're here to fight monsters, so... watch where you're going!"

Ruby's eyes were red now. She quickly got up and stormed over to the girl, grabbing her by the front of her shirt and pulling her in close. "Look, I said I was sorry," Ruby growled, reaching down to her boot. "But if you can't take an apology, then-" She stopped, and looked down, wide-eyed. "Where's my knife?" She let the girl drop and began looking around wildly.

The girl in white looked down and saw, glinting under a cover of soot, the knife blade. She bent down and picked it up, brushing off the black dust. It was a beautifully made knife, the blade decorated with a silver vine covered in roses that started at the bottom of the hilt and wound its way up to the tip of the blade. "Is this it?" She called out, and Ruby turned to her.

"Yes! It must've fallen out after the- ya know- sneeze!" The red bled away from Ruby's eyes, and before the girl could even move, she was being squashed in a hug from the smiling red-cloaked girl. The annoyed look that at been on her face was replaced with surprise.

"Thanks for finding my knife, princess."

Before the girl in white could even process the terrifyingly fast personality switch, a new voice came from behind her.

"It's heiress, actually." The person who had spoken, a girl with long black hair and clothes that looked suspiciously like a homemade ninja outfit, walked over, holding one of the Dust vials that had rolled away during the explosion, her amber eyes on the logo on the vial.

"Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world."

Weiss's confused look was replaced by smug satisfaction. "Finally, some recognition!"

The girl in black continued, "The same company infamous for its controversial labor forces and questionable business partners." She looked up at Weiss with a barely noticeable grin at the corners of her mouth.

As Weiss's smug expressions turned to disbelief, and then anger, Ruby stood off to the side, chuckling to herself. _I wonder what her name is_ , she thought.

Weiss stomped over to the girl in black and swiped that vial out of her hand. " _This_ ," she said, "Is Schnee Dust Company property, so keep your little hands off it." She turned to several people in uniforms behind her luggage cart. "Come on, we have places to be."

The people in uniforms picked up suitcases that had fallen off and loaded them onto the cart, and the walked off with Weiss, who Ruby was starting to have some ideas about.

Ruby called out to Weiss. "I'll make it up to you!", but Weiss just ignored her. Ruby shrugged and turned to the _much_ more interesting girl in black to ask her name, only to find that she had disappeared. _Huh_ , she thought. _She's sneaky. Well, too bad._

Ruby walked over to a nearby lamppost and sat down at its base to think. Unfortunately, she was a lot more sleep-deprived from the night before than she realized, and quickly dozed off.

 ***AN HOUR LATER***

When Ruby opened her eyes, she immediately knew something was off. She turned her head and realized someone was leaning up against the lamppost beside her. He was blonde, with some white armor over a black hoodie and blue jeans.

"Why are we sitting at the lamppost?" Ruby asked.

"Well," said the boy, putting his arm behind his head. "You fell asleep by this here pole, so I laid down beside you so everyone would think we were chillin'." He looked over. "My name's Jaune, by the way. Jaune Arc." He then flashed the most ridiculous looking grin ever and said: "Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it!"

Ruby was trying very hard not to burst out laughing. Oh, screw it. Who am I kidding, she didn't try at all. Half a second later, she was almost crying with laughter.

Jaune's expression became very concerned. "Wait, do you not love it?"

Ruby struggled to respond through her laughter. "No, it's- it's just-" She snorted. "You looked so ridiculous!"

He frowned. "Oh come on! I practiced that for _months_! Only to be brought down by a tiny girl wearing a cape!"

Ruby only laughed harder. Jaune groaned.

Ruby finally recovered from her laughing fit. "I'm Ruby. Ruby Rose. And you-" She stared up at Jaune, squinting. "Aren't you Vomit Boy?"

Jaune was confused. "Who?"

Ruby giggled. "The guy who threw up at the airships?"

Jaune's face went red. "Hey, motion sickness is a common problem!"

Ruby started laughing again. "Look, I'm sorry! Vomit Boy was the first thing that came to mind."

Jaune looked mildly insulted. "Oh, yeah? What if I called you Crater Face?"

Ruby gasped. "You saw that?!"

Jaune nodded. "Ruby, everyone for half a mile saw that sneeze."

It was Ruby's turn to look red. She put her head in her hands. "It was an accident!"

They both laughed for about a minute, but afterward was a slightly uncomfortable silence.

Ruby turned to Jaune. "So, uh… Any idea where we're supposed to go?"

Jaune's head snapped up. "Oh, darn! I forgot, we have an assembly!"

Ruby raise an eyebrow. "Darn?"

Jaune wasn't paying attention. "Come on, Ruby! We gotta go!" He stood up and started running.

Ruby ran after him. "Wait for me!"

 ***10 MINUTES LATER***

Ruby and Jaune stood in the entrance to the assembly hall, both panting.

"We- we made it," Jaune gasped out, trying to catch his breath.

Ignoring Jaune's frantic gasps for air, Ruby looked around. Then she heard Yang's voice.

"Ruby, over here!" called Yang, who was waving her arm in the air. "I saved you a spot!"

Ruby turned to Jaune. "Sorry! My sister's here, so I guess I'll see you after the assembly! Bye!" She then raced off to be with Yang.

"Hey, wait!" called Jaune, before sighing when he realized Ruby was already gone. "Ah, great. Where am I supposed to find another nice, quirky girl to talk to?!" He complained, oblivious of the red-haired girl behind him watching his every move.

Yang crossed her arms when Ruby reached her. "So, how's your first day going, Rubes?"

Ruby scowled. "You mean since you _ditched_ me and I _exploded_?!"

Yang made a concerned face. "Yikes, meltdown already?"

Ruby shook her head. "No, I _literally_ exploded a hole in front of the school! And there was some fire, and I think some cookies...?"

Yang grinned. "Are you being sarcastic?"

Ruby huffed. "I wish!" Weiss appeared out of the crowd and walked up to Ruby, standing behind her. "I tripped over some crabby girl's luggage, and then she yelled at me, and then I sneezed, and then I exploded, and then she yelled at me again, and I felt really, really bad, and I just wanted her to stop yelling at me!"

From behind Ruby came a voice. "You!" Weiss yelled in Ruby's ear.

Ruby yelped and jumped into Yang's arms. "Oh, God, it's happening again!"

Weiss pointed her finger at Ruby. "You're lucky we weren't blown off the side of the cliff!"

Yang raised her eyebrows. "Oh my God, you actually exploded."

Ruby whined. "It was an accident." Weiss's expression remained unchanged. Ruby climbed down out of Yang's arms. "It was an accident!"

Weiss sighed and rolled her eyes. "You _really_ wanna make things up to me?" Ruby nodded vigorously. Weiss put on a devilish grin. "Alright…" She leaned in close to Ruby's ear and whispered. When she pulled away. Ruby's mouth hung open, her eyes wide. Weiss smirked. "You _still_ wanna make things up to me?" Ruby's expression changed to a devilish grin to match Weiss's. Weiss looked surprised and took a step back. Clearly, it wasn't the reaction she had been expecting.

"I," said Ruby, making direct eye contact with Weiss and leaning in close. "Would _love_ to."

Weiss made a worried face. "W-well then…" She gulped. "I guess I'll, uh… see you later." Then she turned away and quickly walked into the crowd.

Ruby turned around to find Yang staring at her, hands on her hips. "Ruby, what was that?" She grinned.

Ruby's face went red. "Uh, nothing! Nothing!" She waved her hands. "Absolutely nothing!"

Yang raised an eyebrow. "Mmmhmm."

Ruby was about to respond, but from over the speakers came the sound of someone tapping on the microphone. Everyone in the hall turned towards the stage as a man with white hair and a cane began to speak.

"I'll... keep this brief." He paused and pushed his glasses up on his nose. "You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people." His eyes scanned the crowd, finally landing on Ruby in the back of the room.

"But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction." At this, many students began to whisper. His eyes still bored into Ruby, causing her to shrink back into the shadows just a bit.

"You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you… to take the first step." He turned and walked away, leaving all the students in the room whispering amongst themselves.

A woman with blonde hair, and cape, and what looked like a riding crop stepped up to the microphone. "You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed." Students began to file out the doors, eager to get closer to the entry test.

Yang frowned. "He seemed kind of… _off_."

Ruby shuddered. "Almost like he wasn't even there."

"Well," Said Yang, smiling. "At least we're gonna get a slumber party!"

Ruby groaned.

 ***AN HOUR LATER***

Ruby, now wearing pajamas that looked like a strawberry field, sat on her sleeping bag up against the wall of the ballroom drawing in her journal, periodically peeking over the book to scan the room.

Yang walked up to Ruby and flopped down onto her own sleeping bag next to her sister's. "I told you it was gonna be a slumber party!"

Ruby looked up. "I don't think Dad would approve of all the boys, though."

"Well I know I do!" Yang said, looking around at the several shirtless boys on the other side of the room, only to have her perfect view obstructed by none other than Jaune Arc wearing bunny footy pajamas. Yang groaned as Ruby smirked.

Yang turned her attention back to Rub and the journal in her hands. "What's that?"

Ruby held up the journal. "This?" Yang nodded. "It's just some drawings I've been doing for a while now." She looked up at Yang shyly. "You… wanna see?"

"Sure." Said Yang. Ruby handed her the journal and she began to flip through the pages. There were weapon sketches, mostly of Crescent Rose, but also of Ember Celica, Uncle Qrow's Scythe, a cane that looked like it fired Dust flares, several other weapon designs, and a sketch of Baís's gun, which was what Ruby had been working on.

"Wow, Ruby," Said Yang, handing back the journal. "These are really nice. Why don't you show these to anyone else?"

Ruby sighed. "Yang, I don't really think _weapon sketches_ are gonna net me any friends."

"Pffft," said Yang. **(She didn't really say anything but you know the noise I'm talking about)** "You probably don't even need these. You've got Jaune!" Yang turned around and looked back across the room to where Jaune noticed and waved at her. "He's… nice. But I'm missing the point! That's plus one friend! That's a hundred percent increase!"

Ruby sighed. "Pretty sure Weiss counts as a negative friend. Back to zero…" She looked up and scanned the room again. "By the way, have you seen her anywhere? I have an, uh, agreement to honor."  
While scanning the room, however, her eyes landed on a different person of interest. Up against the same wall as Ruby, but farther down, was the black haired girl from earlier.

"That girl…" mumbled Ruby, staring at her.

Yang followed her line of sight. "You know her?" She asked.

"Not really," said Ruby, not taking her eyes off the girl. "She saw what happened this morning, but left before I could say anything."

Ruby stood up and walked across the room, stopping in front of the black-haired girl.

"Hey, my names Ruby, what's yours?" Asked Ruby, nervously wringing her hands.

The girl looked up, staring for a few seconds before responding. "My name's Blake," She paused again. "Aren't you the girl that exploded?"

Ruby's face went red. "Uh, yeah." She turned her attention to Blake's book. "So what are you reading?"

It was Blake's turn to go red. "Uh…"

Ruby got a devilish smile on her face, and before Blake could react, she lifted up the book to get a peek at the cover. "Oh, _Ninjas of Love_? In public?"

Blake got even redder. "I- I read it for the plot!"

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh." She leaned in close to Blake's ear and whispered: "My favorite part's page 182."

 **(By now, you were probably thinking that Blake could not possibly get any redder. You were wrong.)** At this point, Blake looked like a tomato that happened to have hair. She opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by a very loud blonde.

"Oh, Ruby! Did you make a new friend?" said Yang, running over.

Ruby's grin disappeared and she sighed. "I think so, but-"

She was cut off as Yang lifted her into the air in a bear hug. "Oh, I am so proud of you!"

Ruby was gasping. "Yang… can't… breathe…" Ruby pushed off of Yang, making her lose her balance and sending both of them tumbling to the floor.

"Well," said Blake, stifling a laugh. "Ruby, Yang, it's a pleasure to meet-"

Blake was cut off as Weiss stomped over, wearing her pajamas and looking very unhappy. "hat in the world is going on over here?! Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep?"

Weiss and Yang looked at each other. "Oh, not you again!" They both said in unison.

Ruby got off of Yang. "Guys, she's right! People are trying to sleep!" She turned to Weiss, smiling. "And besides, I've got some _business_ to attend to!"

Ruby grabbed Weiss's wrist began to drag her away. "Hey! What are you doing?! Unhand me, you-" Weiss stopped suddenly when Ruby bent down and whispered something in her ear. Weiss sighed and then remained silent, looking at the ground as she was dragged away.

Blake and Yang both watched this happen. "Is- Is she gonna be alright?' Asked Blake, concerned.

Yang turned to Blake. "Honestly, I have absolutely no idea."

Little did they know, Weiss was going to be more than alright. I mean, she and Ruby would be sore as all hell the next morning, but, at least from Weiss's point of view, it was totally worth it.


	5. TEST

**Ruby POV**

Ruby's eyes opened to a familiar white-haired face. She blinked and pulled her hands up to rub the sleep out of her eyes. She probably should have slept more for today, but she got kind of caught up last night with Weiss. That brought a smile to her face, and she chuckled.

Ruby lifted Weiss's arm up from where it lays across her chest and sat up in the sleeping bag. She moved her legs as to get up, but was interrupted by a hand grasping at her wrist.

Weiss's half-open sleepy eyes were looking up at her from the sleeping bag. "Can I-" she said, breaking off with a yawn. "Can I pay you to pretend this never happened?"

Ruby smiled inwardly but put on a thoughtful expression. "How much we talkin'?"

"Uh," said Weiss, turning and digging around in her bag for a moment, before pulling out a small silver card. "This should cover it, I think." She yawned again.

Ruby took the card in her hand. _'Holy shit!'_ She thought. ' _This is nearly triple what I usually get paid for a job! I can maintain Crescent Rose for almost a year on this!'_

The expression on Ruby's face was unreadable, but her eyes, wide and staring at the card, said it all. "This is fine," She managed to choke out in a small voice. "Uh, thanks, I guess."

Weiss smiled and yawned again, clearly still half-asleep. "Any time."

Ruby attracted a few stares as she walked back to her and Yang's sleeping bags, which was unsurprising. After all, she did just climb out of Schnee's sleeping bag on the first night, but that wasn't helped by the fact that Ruby had dragged Weiss away before lights out last night and not come back until well past midnight several hours later.

"Good morning Yang," Said Ruby, walking up behind (You'll never guess who it is) Yang, who was rolling up her sleeping bag. "Did you sleep well?"

Yang turned around with an eyebrow raised and her hands on her hips. _'Oh no,'_ Thought Ruby. _'This is not gonna be good.'_

"Did _I_ sleep well?" Asked Yang sarcastically. If Ruby had been looking behind her, she would have noticed Blake lift her head up from her pillow to watch the exchange.

"Oh, I slept great alright. What I want to know is…" She poked her finger at Ruby and spoke through gritted teeth. "How. Well. You Slept." She punctuated each word with a light poke to Ruby's forehead.

"Because you know how Dad said no boys? I don't think this is what he meant!"

Ruby blushed. "I, uh, have no idea what you're talking about."

Yang raised her other eyebrow, and now Ruby was worried.

"Oh, so you have no idea _who_ dragged a very likely half-naked celebrity back to bed at one in the morning, even though you were the one who left with her?"

Ruby blushed.

"Like, jeez, at least wait a day before you seduce half the student body." Yang was half-laughing at the end, and smiling now.

Ruby was relieved, until…

Yang's expression switched back to serious, and then she said the five worst words any person had ever said to her.

"No Cookies for a month."

Ruby's world shattered. "What?!"

Yang crossed her arms and turned her head to the side. "You heard what I said."

Ruby's voice quivered. "But- but-"

"No buts, Ruby," said Yang, attempting not to fall victim to Ruby's puppy eyes. "I mean it this time. Now let's get ready, the entry exam is in half an hour." She then turned and walked out of the room.

"Ugh, _fine_ ," said Ruby, stomping her foot. "But when you wake up with 6 inches of hair missing, don't blame me!" She could have sworn she saw Yang stop and freeze for a second before walking ahead.

 **^THE LOCKER ROOM^**

Yang and Ruby stood at the lockers talking, a girl in pink and a boy in green across the room.

"Ruby, if you wanna grow up, you're gonna have to meet new people and learn to work together," Yang said.

"You sound just like Dad!" Ruby growled, shoving Crescent Rose into the locker. " I don't need people to help me grow up! I drink milk!"

Yang snorted. "But what about when we form teams, hm?"

Ruby paled. "Um, I don't know, I... I'll just be on your team or something…" She trailed off.

Yang grabbed a large lock of her hair and began to stroke it. "Maybe… You should try being on someone else's team?"

Ruby turned to her slowly, a faux smile on her face. "My dearest sister Yang, are you implying that you… _don't_ want to be one team with me?"

Now it was Yang's turn to go w few shades lighter. " What? No! Of course I do! I just thought... I don't know, maybe it would help you... break out of your shell! Maybe even help you find a semi-permanent girlfriend!"

"What? I don't need to break out of my shell!" Ruby yelled, crossing her arms. "And who says I don't have a girlfriend?"

"Well," said Yang, smirking. "One, if you had a girlfriend, I don't think she'd take very kindly to you making a snack out of Ms. Schnee over there-"

From the other side of the locker room came an annoyed shout. "Hey, I heard that Xiao Long!"

Yang chuckled. "-And two, you're just a bit too into Crescent Rose over there for you to have any other physical contact."

Ruby went red as her name and looked down at the floor. "What Crescent and I do when we're alone is none of your business."

Yang looked dumbfounded as her face also went red. "Holy shit. I was joking, but-"

"Shut up!" Ruby yelled. "I don't wanna hear it!"

Fortunately for Ruby, she wouldn't have to, because it was at that moment that her saving grace appeared.

"Uh, guys," Started Jaune, who walked up holding a map of the school. "Where- Where can I find locker 636?" He looked up to notice both Ruby and Yang staring at him with red faces. "Did I, uh, come at a bad time?"

Yang snapped out of it and shook her head. "Uh, no, you're good," she looked at the map he was holding. "I didn't even know the locker numbers went up that high, but it should be down that way." She pointed down the room past where Weiss and a red-haired girl were chatting.

"Thanks," He said beginning to walking that way, passing Weiss talking to a tall redhead.

 **WEISS POV**

 **"** So, who might you be?" Weiss asked the girl, who stood next to the locker fitting on armor. "My name's Weiss Schnee."

The Amazon, which is what Weiss called her in her head whenever she looked at her, finished adjusting a strap of her armor and turned to Weiss.

"My name's Pyrrha. Pyrrha Nikos." Weiss's jaw dropped. "It's very nice to meet you, Weiss."

"Pyr- Pyrrha Nikos?" Asked Weiss, starstruck. " _The_ Pyrrha Nikos, champion of Mistral?"

Pyrrha's face fell. "Yes, that Pyrrha Nikos." **(Wow we just said Pyrrha's name a lot)**

Weiss improvised on the spot. "So, have you given any thought to whose team you'd like to be on?" Weiss was trying and failing to act as inconspicuous as possible "I'm sure there must be people lining up to be on a team with someone with your-" Weiss stared at Pyrrha's muscled arms. "- _skills._ "

Pyrrha either didn't notice Weiss's stares or didn't care, looking down at her feet. "Hmm... I'm not quite sure. I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may."

Weiss grinned. "Well... I was thinking maybe we could be on a team together."

Pyrrha tilted her head and smiled. "That sounds great!"

Weiss opened her mouth to speak, but was rudely interrupted by one **(1)** Jaune Arc.

"You know what else is great?" He asked with a tv-announcer smile. "Me." He turned to Weiss. "Jaune Arc. Nice to see you again."

Weiss's expression went from excitement to a distasteful frown. "And what might _you_ be doing here?"

Pyrrha slid up to Jaune's slide so fast that Weiss stepped back, startled.

"Well, it's very nice to meet you Jaune!" Said Pyrrha, smiling sweetly.

Jaune turned his head towards Pyrrha. "And who might you be, beautiful?"

Pyrrha made a sound almost like a dying animal but managed to squeak out her name. "Pyrrha. Pyrrha Nikos."

Jaune smiled. "That's a very nice name. Now, I overheard y'all talking about teams, and I was thinking that we'd make a great one. What do you say?"

Pyrrha opened her mouth to speak, but Weiss intervened.

"Do you even know who you're speaking too!?" Asked Weiss, gesturing to Pyrrha. "This is _Pyrrha McFucking Nikos_ \- pardon my language- _the champion of Mistral_!"

Jaune narrowed his eyes and looked thoughtful for a moment before going back to his normal deadpan expression. "Never heard of her."

Weiss felt like she was about to die. "What!? What do you _mean_ , you've never heard of her!?"

Pyrrha's face, however, lit up like a christmas tree. "You mean, you have no idea who I am?"

Jaune nodded. "Yup," before switching back to his tv-smile from earlier. "But I was hoping to get to know you better later."

Weiss walked between them. "Wait, so you're telling _me,_ " She pointed at Jaune. "That you have _never_ heard of her." She pointed at Pyrrha.

Jaune nodded again. "Mhm."

Weiss gaped. "The Champion of Mistral? 4-Time winner of the Mistral-Vacuo Tournament? Record holder for the Javelin throw?"

Jaune looked suspiciously at the redhead beside him. "Are you _sure_ that's her?"

"Ugh!" Weiss grunted, and then looked thoughtful for a moment, before brightening. "The girl on the front of the Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes cereal box!"

Jaune gasped. "You're her!?"

Pyrrha, embarrassed, nodded.

Jaune was basically jumping for joy, and if people's pupils could turn into stars, then his did. "I _love_ that cereal! I even won one of the hoodies!" He then lifted up the front piece of his armor to reveal the large bunny logo on his hoodie.

Pyrrha rubbed the back of her neck. "Yeah, I did a promotional run for the cereal about a year ago, even though it's… not all that great for your health."

Weiss slid up to Jaune's side, knocking Pyrrha out of the way. "Now that you know who she is, do you _really_ think you're in a position to be asking her to be on your team?"

Jaune hung is head. "No."

Pyrrha peeked around from behind Weis where she had fallen. "Actually, Jaune, I think you'd make a _great_ leader!"

Jaune smiled. "Aw, stop it."

Weiss sighed. "Seriously, stop it. This kind of behavior should not be encouraged!"

Jaune leaned in. "Sounds like Pyrrha's on board for Team Jaune. Spots are filling up quick! Now, I'm not supposed to do this, but maybe I could pull some strings, find a place for you. What do you say?"

"Okay, that's a little too close," Weiss gowled. "Sorry-not-sorry about this!"

She whipped out her rapier and made a nice walkway of ice from Jaune to the other side of the locker room, which he immediately slipped on, causing him to slide all the way across the room.

"Sorry!" Pyrrha called out to him. "I'll talk to you later!"

There was a faint "Okay!" but nothing else.

 **RUBY POV**

A woman's voice echoed through the locker room through the speakers. "Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately."

"Alright Rubes!" said Yang, smashing her fist into the palm of her hand. "Let's do this!"

As Ruby and Yang walked out of the locker room, they encountered a Jaune Arc, still attempting to stand on the ice walkway that Weiss had created.

"Having some trouble there, lady-killer?" Asked Yang, grinning.

"I don't understand," cried Jaune, accepting the hand that Ruby offered and lifting himself up. "My dad said all women look for is confidence! Where did I go wrong?"

"Going after the white one probably wasn't the best idea," Ruby said. "She can be a real di-" Ruby stopped, able to feel the vengeful eye of Yang on the back of her head. "-Meany pants."

Yang cleared her throat. "Although, the way the red one acted, you might have a chance with her…"

Jaune chuckled. "Pyrrha? Nah." He made a thoughtful face. "I mean, she is really cute. And nice. And funny. And-" He looked down at his shoes. "Oh no."

Yang laughed. "'Oh no' is right, buddy." She patted him on the back. "Now come on! We have monsters to slay, entrance exams to pass, and cute girls to impress. Away!"

 ***5 MINUTES LATER***

Ruby, Yang and Jaune arrived at the top of Beacon Cliff, Yang grinning, and both Ruby and Jaune panting.

"Yang," Ruby managed to get out between gasps for air. "How can you… How can you run so fast for… _so long_!?"

Yang replied with one word. "Breath control." **(Well fuck, I guess that's actually 2 words)**

Ruby and Jaune both groaned.

Before they could say anything else, however, the same woman from the assembly blew a whistle, causing all the students to stop speaking and look in her direction.

"Children," She began. "My name is Glynda Goodwitch. For the rest of your time here, should you pass the entrance exam, I will be your most-seen administrator, so I advise you be on your best behavior for me." A couple students chuckled, but were silenced with a glare. "Now, if you would, please find a platform and stand on it while Professor Ozpin begins the presentation."

As students scrambled to find a metal platform to stand on, Ruby, Yang, & Jaune looked at each other.

"Presentation?" Ruby muttered. "What kind of- Oh."

She jogged over to get on one of the metal platforms as Ozpin and Goodwitch wheeled out a pull-down screen and a projector on a cart.

Yang raised an eyebrow. "An actual presentation. Huh. Who would've thought."

Ozpin cleared his throat, and ell eyes turned to him. The projector started up, and a slide appeared on the screen. It was blank, except for the word T.E.S.T. in block font.

"Hello new students!"Said Ozpin. "Welcome to the T.E.S.T., also known as-" He clicked a button on his cane, and the slide changed, revealing what the acronym stood for. "Totally Ethical Suicidal Training, designed and named by me, of course."

Poor Jaune, who had already been nervous enough, went whiter than Weiss's hair.

"We will be testing three things today. Firstly, your ability to Improvise. You will need to create unorthodox and creative solutions on the spot to overcome challenges." The slide changed, showing a Beowolf surrounded by several huntsmen and huntresses. "Secondly, your ability to adapt. You will have to be able to adjust quickly to your unfamiliar surroundings so that this-" The slide changed to a _very_ graphic image of what happens when someone doesn't realize there's a cliff behind them when the back up. There were several gagging noises, and Jaune vomited. Again.

"-Is not you. For those of you wondering, yes, this student did survive, but she really didn't enjoy her legs being turned 180 degrees for a week." Ozpin paused, clicking his cane again. The screen changed to the huntsmen and huntresses from before, standing triumphantly over a dead Beowolf's dissolving body. "Thirdly, we will be testing you ability to overcome challenges that have been set out before you. If this test is too difficult, then you just might not survive your first real mission. Be advised, there have been several severe injuries and deaths resulting from this test in the 20 years since I implemented it, so if you want to back out, now is the time."

Jaune looked like he was about to raise his hand, but brought it back down to his side.

Ozpin smiled. "Everyone ready? Perfect." He turned to Glynda, who had wheeled the projector and screen out of the way. "Glynda, if you will."

Glynda walked out in front of them. "Each of you, after landing in the forest, will be partnered up with the first person with whom you make eye contact."

Everyone looked at each other, mentally attempting to choose who they wanted.

"As Headmaster Ozpin just said, you will need to Improvise, Adapt, & Overcome **(heh heh)** to make it to the other end of the valley where the relics are to be found. After you and your partner select an artifact, you will proceed to the top of the opposite cliff, where me and the Headmaster will be waiting. Any questions?"

Jaune tentatively raised his hand.

"Yes?" Glynda asked turning, towards him.

"Um, so these… landing strategy things… Will you be providing parachutes or something?"

"No," said Ozpin, from off to the side. "You will be devising your own landing strategies."

It was at that moment that Jaune was launched off the platform, flying off into the distance, a faint scream echoing through the air.

"You ready, Yang?" Yelled Ruby on the platform.

"You bet your ass I aaaaaaaam!" Yelled back Yang as she was launched into the air.

Ruby turned to Weiss. "Wish me luck, Snow Whiiiiiiiiiite!" She flew off into the air, cackling madly.

Weiss and Blake were then launched in quick succession, followed by a girl in pink and a boy in green, Pyrrha having been launched before Jaune.

Ruby sailed through the air, laughing. Suddenly, there was a Crow, who she obliterated.

"Sorry birdy!" she called after it as she approached the tops of the trees.

She pulled out Crescent Rose and fired off a dozen rounds, slowing her down enough that she landed on the forest floor in a kickass combat roll. "Nice!"

Running around the forest, she kept muttering to herself. "Gotta find Yang, gotta find Yang," She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Or Blake. She was nice." She smiled. "And hot."

She heard a grunt through a wall of bushes. "Yang? Is that you?" She called out. "Yang?" She pushed through the wall of bushes, and her face fell. "Aw, You're not Yang!"

Weiss stood in front of her, then locked eyes. "Well, shit."


End file.
